Wire-stretcher



(No Model.) A 2 Sheetsh-Sheet 1. I

J. DIETRICH.

WIRE STRETGHER.

Patented Nov. 15, 1892. l

nimmviim .ai

(No Model.) zvheets-sn'e'et 2.

` J. DIETRICH.

WIRE STRETGHER.

No. 486,221. y Patented Nov. 15,1892. i

Il i1' lilll lill UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN'DIETRIOH, OF YELLOW CREEK, ILLINOIS.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,221, dated November15, 1892.

Application iiled March 31, 1 892- Serial No. 427,178. (No model.)

. To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

' Be it known that I, JOHN DIETRICH, a citizen' of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Yellow Creek, in the county of Stephenson and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-Stretchers, of which the following is a speciiication. v

. My invention relates to improvements in wire-stretchers of that classin which a reciprocating lever has a step-by-step movement along astraight bar, the bar being attached to a post or other suitablesupport, and the lever being provided with a wire-holding clamp wherebythe movement of the lever along the bar stretches the wire.

The invention is fully described and explained in this specification andshown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a top plan ofmy improved stretcher in operative position with relation to a post.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the stretcher, the view being in thedirection indicated by the arrow d, Fig. l. Figs. 3 and 4 are bottomplans of the stretcher, showing its lever and other operatingparts indifferent positions.

In the views, A is a straight flat bar of iron or steel formed withpreferably-square notches N N in its edges and having at one end an armA at right angles to the bar and terminating in a point a, the arm andpoint being adapted to secure the bar to a post P in the manner shown inFig. 1. Across the bar Alies a lever L, to which are attached straps LL2, embracing the bar and permitting the lever to slide freely thereon.Two pawls or dogs D D lie between the strap L2 and the lever on oppositeedges of the bar A and are held in place by means of pivots pp', therear ends of the pawls being connected by a short transverse bar C,connected with them by suitable pivots. The front end of each of thedogs D D is formed with a hook d, extending across the bar and havingits end bent upward or downward to embrace the edge thereof and limitthe lateral movement of the front end of the dog, and near the rear endof each of the dogs there is formed on its inner margin apreferably-rectangular lug d, adapted to enter in any one of the seriesof notches N on the corresponding edge of the bar A. The

short bar C is parallel to thelever L, and when the lever is at rightangles to the bar, as in Fig. l, the space between the inner ends of thelugs d is considerably greater than the width of the bar A. It isevident, therefore, that if the lever be moved in the directionindicated by the arrow a, Fig. 1, until the lug on the dog D is freefrom the notch in which it lies both thelugs on the dogs Willbe entirelyfree from the bar, and the lever may be moved thereon toward or awayfrom the arm A without difiiculty. It', however, the lever be swung inthe direction indicated bythe arrow a' in Fig. 1, the dog D must bemoved forward or toward the arm A until the 'parts reach the positionshown in Fig. 3, when the lug of the dog D will enter one of the notcheson the corresponding edge of the bar A in the manner shown in thatligure. If, then,the movement of the lever be reversed, the lug on thedog D must become the fulcrum or support of the lever, when the dog Dwill be moved forward until the parts reach the Vposition illustrated inFig. 4t. This reciprocal movement of the lever may be continued asrequired, and at each movement of the lever in either direction one ofthe dogs will be advanced one step upon the bar A.

To the strap L is pivoted the front end of a bar E, lying along the faceof the bar A and held in suitable relation thereto by means of a claspE', pivoted to the bar E and embracing the bar A. The rear end E2 of thebar E is in a plane at right angles to the plane of the bar A andcarries a short lever L3, which is pivoted to it by means of a pivot p3,Fig. 2. A cam F, pivoted to the lever Z3, has a slight sliding movementon the bar lt2 and is formed with fingers f f, which embrace the end ofthe bar, the ends of the fingers preferably joined by a rodf, lying in anotch e in the lower margin of the bar E2, this rod being intended topermit the sliding of the cam along the bar and at the same time toprevent'its escape therefrom. The lever L3 is provided with a shoulder,which overhangs the corrugated upper edge of the cam F and is adapted toclamp the end of awire WV, which it is. desired to stretch by means ofthe device. The

clamp thus formed is simple and powerful,

IOO

opposingsurfaces in such a Way as to render it diiiicult` to release itWhen desired. An examination of the relative position of the parts, asshown in Fig. 2, will show that a very slight movement of the free endof the lever L3 will be sufficient to release the wire; but neverthelessthe pressure obtained by this clamp is sufiicient to hold the Wirefirmly under any tension to which it is subjected in actual use.

The operation of the device is evident from the foregoing descriptionand explanation of its parts, but may be brieiiy stated as follows: Theend A of the bar being brought into enga-gement with a post inthevmanner shown in Fig. l, the lever, with its dogs and clamp, is movedto the rear end of the bar A that is, to the end farthest from the post.The clamp is then brought into engagement with one endof the Wire to betightened, the other endbeing fastened to a post at a suitable distancefrom the stretcher. e The lever v is then moved reciprocally in themanner hereinbefore described, and by means of its dogs is moved forwardstep by step upon the bar until the Wire is sufficiently tightened oruntil the lever reaches the post. If the lever reaches the post beforethe wire is drawn tight, the wire may be fastened to the post in anydesired manner or otherwise secured against slackening, and the dogs maythen be released from the notches in the bar and moved again to the rearend thereof, when the clamp can again be applied to the wire and theoperation of stretching repeated.

Having now described and explained my i invention, what I claim as new,and desire to 1 secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the notched bar A and lever L, of the dogs DD', lying on opposite edges of the bar and pivoted to thelever, and theconnecting-bar C, joining the ends of the dogs, the front ends of thedogs being formed to embrace the bar and their rear ends being providedwith inwardlyextending lugs adapted to enter the notches in the bar,substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of the lever A, provided with notches N N in itsopposite edges, the lever L, the dogs D D', formed with hooks d cl `andlugs el d', and the connecting-bar C, pivoted to the rear ends of thedogs, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with the bar, the lever, and dogs attached to thelever and adapted to give it a step-bystep advance thereon, of `the barE E2, moving with the lever, the 1e- `ver L3, pivoted to the bar E E2,and the cam F, pivoted to the lever L3 and sliding upon the bar E2, thelever being provided with a shoulder overhan ging the edge of the camand `,adapted to form therewith a wire'holding Qclamp, substantially asshown and described.

4. The combination, with the bar A and lever L, of the bar E E2, formedwith the notch `le, lthe lever L3, pivoted to the bar E2, and the cainF,pivoted to the lever L3 and provided 'With the iingersff and with therod f', join- ;ing the ends of the fingers and sliding in a notch e,substantially as shown and described.

JOHN DIETRICH.

Witnesses:

Y. W. DOW, u CHARLES DIETRICH.

